Wednesday, 22 December 2010

Like many other concerned Malaysians, I anguished over a potential three-corner fight which may potentially give Barisan Nasional the upper hand.

Most people really want BN out of Putrajaya and its politicians either behind bars or in the zoo.

BN in the mean time has vowed to reclaim Putrajaya at all costs. The best way would be bribe Pakatan Rakyat MPs to jump over to their side.

The problem is, it has worked before. There was a huge Frog Festival that ended in the Perak democratic crisis, where Perak returned to BN hands due to MPs leaping over to the other side.

This has to be nipped in the bud. We have no room for error in the next General Elections.

Misbehaving MPs from PR have not been admonished nor has any disciplinary action been taken against them. There is merely silence.

In the midst of these discussions on how to take this nation forward, the scum at the bottom of the sewage pond is unable to resist spinning for its masters.

NST discredits Pakatan Rakyat by misquoting various civil liberty leaders with attempts like Some PR reps not fit to walk a dog. This agitates various anti-BN segments, to the extent of losing focus on the big picture.

The big picture is that we need good policy-makers in parliament, not just random and unqualified representatives of a political party belonging to the Opposition.

The MCLM president Haris Ibrahim, gave a very good example during the first public forum held by the MCLM to engage with the citizens and address their concerns.

He asked if anyone was from the Wangsa Maju constituency. There wasn't, but most people knew that Wee Choo Keong, a BN-friendly froggie is the current MP.

"Assuming that Wee decides to kiss and make up with PKR," Haris postulated, "and they decided to let bygones be bygones..."

The audience was silent.

"What if PKR decided to forget the past and allow Wee to run for MP again, and he was running against our independent candidate Imtiaz, should we withdraw Imtiaz to avoid having a three-corner fight?"

There was audible objection. "Hell no," I privately mouthed.

"Ah," said Haris smugly, "so it depends on the situation then?"

And that was it in a nutshell.

The MCLM is not advocating a three-corner fight to make things difficult for Pakatan Rakyat. Everyone with half a brain-cell knows that Barisan Nasional is chronically incapable of reform and thus has to be removed.

But good people need to be voted into parliament. Let us not lose focus of that.

A very good description of MCLM can be found HERE. It may be a little deep, but it is certainly well thought-out.

Sunday, 19 December 2010

It looks like Pakatan Rakyat has finally got its act together and detailed a policy framework.

According to the booklet, PR promised instant reforms within the first 100 days of them taking over Putrajaya.

Among the reforms are:

1. A restructure of institutions including the Elections Commission (EC), the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), the Attorney-General’s Chambers and the Royal Malaysian Police. During a debate on the policy framework, DAP’s Anthony Loke said PR bring the MACC under the purview of Parliament.

2. A repeal of the Internal Security Act (ISA)

3. Instruct Khazanah Berhad, Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) and other government bodies to take over highway assets from the concessionaires in order to abolish the toll system.

4. A restructure of the country’s subsidies, to lessen subsidies given to the private sector (such as the RM19 billion in gas subsidies given to independent power producers) and transferring these to subsidies for the man on the street.

5. Acknowledging the role and sacrifices of civil servants by studying the current pay schemes and increasing the incentives for teachers by RM500 a month

6. Transferring private water concessions to the government

7. Offering free wireless Internet access to those in urban and semi-urban areas

8. Cancelling Felda Plantations and opening up its farms to second- and third generation Felda settlers.

9. Increasing oil royalty payments to Sabah, Sarawak, Terengganu and Kelantan to 20 per cent from 5 per cent currently.

10. Formation of a Royal Commission to solve the problem of illegal immigrants and citizenship issues in Sabah and Sarawak.

Let's see if they stick to their word, should they make it to Putrajaya in the next round.

Unflattering remarks from Singapore have been a highlight of the past few days and Malaysia has handed over a "protest note".

Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman summoned T. Jasudasen, Singapore's high commissioner, and handed him a protest note over the "unjustified comments" made by Singaporean diplomats, the ministry said in a statement.

"The foreign minister also conveyed Malaysia's deep concern and displeasure over the comments as revealed by WikiLeaks and subsequently reported in the media," it added.

The Malaysian government is incapable of accepting negative feedback from its citizens. How well can it swallow insults from its neighbour, I wonder.

According to our neighbours:

1) Malaysia is in a "confused and dangerous" state due to its incompetent politicians;

2) There is a "distinct possibility of racial conflict" in Malaysia which would see ethnic Chinese "flee" the country and "overwhelm" Singapore.

3) Najib Razak was reportedly described as "an opportunist" who "would not hesitate" to be critical of Singapore if "it is expedient for him to do so".

Of course, everyone is abuzz over the news that Anwar Ibrahim had walked into a honey trap.

His sexual orientation is the least of my worries. I am more concerned about his politics of cronyism and selective favour, not to mention his disconcerting obsession to become Prime Minister.

All that being said, I am still bemused at what people will say if they think no one will know.

P.S. WikiLeaks is not the gospel truth. There is a disturbing tendency to treat media reporting based on the US State department cables leaked to WikiLeaks as revealing some sort of ultimate, higher truth - WikiLeaks: take a deep breath

Monday, 13 December 2010

We need a real leader; someone whose commitment to truth, social justice and nation building is as uncompromising as is his or her rejection of politics, greed and vanity. Though we do not need a saint, we need someone who understands that Malaysia belongs to all of us and that its future is our collective future; someone who appreciates the immense power that lies beneath its surface and is capable of harnessing and unleashing that power to capture the world.

Though, someone who could call a spade a spade and get on with dealing with things practically and fairly would be a good start.

Now, is that too much to ask?

Today, he has taken up the challenge of national service by agreeing to run as a political candidate.

This is one guy that many political parties have yearned to field as their candidates. MCLM is capable of producing miracles!

Forget his excellent track record in human rights activism - he is one would aspire to live up to the words he uttered above.

Tuesday, 30 November 2010

In Malaysia, death by a bullet discharged from the firearm of a trigger-happy policeman is now fast becoming 'death by natural causes'.

On 26 Apr 2010, Aminulrasyid Amzah was shot after he tried to flee a roadblock. He did not stand a chance. The 15 year old was killed immediately.

Granted, the kid had no drivers licence and was a menace on the road. But his car was riddled with 30 bullets. No pun intended when I use the term 'overkill'.

On 17 Oct 2010, five foreigners were shot dead after they were suspected to be robbers. Say if two were killed and three injured, there may be some semblance of 'law enforcement'. This reeks of cold-blooded murder.

On 16 Nov 2010, Ho Chei Hang was shot 4 times by plainclothes police officers in Kepong. Yet he was charged for 'attempting to murder' the police officer who had shot at him from behind!

On 13 Nov 2010, Mohd Shamil Hafiz Shapiei, was shot dead at about 4am on a street in Glenmarie in Shah Alam, Selangor. He was about a week away from turning 16.

Makes you wonder - at this rate, how many people exactly have been killed in this manner? Take a look at the government statistics:

A total of 279 suspects have been shot dead by the police between 2000 and 2009, while 147 died in police lockup during the same period, revealed Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein today.

For a country with a population of 28 million, those are not very positive numbers. Cast aside the fact that I don't trust the government and believe the numbers may be higher.

What is frightening is the perpetrators are those who are supposed to be protecting us.

These days, they either shoot citizens point blank or stand by as others inflict violence on their fellow citizens - check out this video I saw that shows how people take the law into their own hands.

The policeman on the right stands by and does nothing

If you don't even have a twinge of conscience while reading this, may God have mercy on you for stepping back and doing nothing as these atrocities continue to be committed in broad daylight.

Tuesday, 9 November 2010

Now here is one dude who belongs to UMNO in heart and spirit. His name is Phil Woolas.

During the general elections, it was alleged that Woolas used doctored photographs, misrepresented facts and stooped to fomenting racial and religious divisions in his Labour leaflets that he handed out.

He claimed that his opponent, Elwyn Atkins, was paid off by a rich Arab sheikh and was in cahoots with the Muslim fundamentalists. This was naturally of concern to the voting public, who may have possibly voted against Atkins.

Now, this is nowhere as bad as Malaysia, where they put Opposition leaders behind bars just around election time to keep them from contesting.

Or repeatedly accused them of homosexuality, playing to a conservative gallery like Mahathir the grandmaster did.

Politicians all over the world are like diapers. They need to be changed frequently, and for the same reason.

However, unlike Mahathir, Phil Woolas has found his election void as the Court has ordered a rerun of the parliamentary seat poll.

This is because the judicial and executive arms of the UK government administration are divorced from each other - unlike in Malaysia, where they are blissfully in bed trying to conceive chaos and disorder to remain in power.

Sunday, 7 November 2010

(Media-Newswire.com) - Washington — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is praising Malaysia’s commitment to religious tolerance as she visits the Muslim-majority country.

“Extremism is not a path to building sustainable prosperity, peace, stability or democracy — it only promotes conflicts and hardens hearts,” she told reporters at a joint news conference November 2 with Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman.

Clinton said the United States fully supports Malaysian efforts to create a global interfaith dialogue, which Anifah said began with a proposal that Prime Minister Najib Razak made to the U.N. General Assembly in September.

Anifah said the proposed initiative “promotes mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and rejects extremists who undermine the universal values of religion.” The initiative’s goal is to create a global movement of moderates, he said.

Clinton did not meet with the prime minister, who was sick during her visit, but did speak to him by telephone. Clinton said she had raised the trial of former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim with Anifah.

“The United States believes it is important for all aspects of the case to be conducted fairly and transparently in a way that increases confidence in the rule of law in Malaysia,” Clinton said, adding that the United States would continue to follow the matter. The government has denied there is any conspiracy against Anwar, and Anifah said Anwar will receive a “fair and open trial.”

“It is in my interest and in our interest to make sure that Anwar gets a fair trial because if there is such a thing as a political prosecution, if it can happen to Anwar, it can happen to the rest of us,” Anifah said.

He and Clinton said they discussed cooperation on issues including trade, science, education, Afghanistan and nuclear nonproliferation. Clinton added she also planned to sign a series of agreements with Malaysia during her trip.

“First, a memorandum of understanding between our two governments designed to expand our collaboration on research and development of new technologies; second, a partnership between the government of Malaysia and Johns Hopkins University to build a new medical school and teaching hospital here in Malaysia; and finally, the sale of 50 Pratt & Whitney airplane engines to Malaysia Airlines, which will create new jobs in both countries,” Clinton told reporters.

Clinton’s visit to Malaysia is part of her 13-day trip to meet with leaders of at least eight East Asian and Pacific nations.

The secretary began traveling October 27 and is set to visit Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Australia and American Samoa before returning to Washington November 8. The secretary’s trip overlaps with President Obama’s travel to India, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan November 6–14.

Meanwhile, Najib is quietly hiding away from the public eye with claims of chicken pox and gastric issues. And who can blame him?

Evidently, it is not only Rosmah that he fears, but also Hillary Clinton and Julia Gillard too. I guess too many women in one's life can give one stomach ulcers.

Wednesday, 3 November 2010

INVITATION TO THE LAUNCH OF BERSIH 2.0
UNITE AND ADVANCE ELECTORAL REFORM

We, the BERSIH 2.0 steering committee, invite your organisation to join and unite with us to advance clean and fair elections in Malaysia. Much still needs to be done and BERSIH 2.0 needs your support and help to make the mission come true for a democratic Malaysia.

BERSIH 2.0 believes that it is only when elections are clean and fair, can citizens determine their own destiny and expect holders of public office to act accountably and effectively. The road to electoral reform is part and parcel of the democratic process to put into place the rule of law, human rights protection, good governance and sustainable development in Malaysia. As citizens, we can make this our reality.

The key issues of electoral reform include
1. A complete revision of the electoral roll to ensure that the existing irregularities are removed and a roll with full integrity is in place.
2. The use of indelible ink (as is done in Indonesia and India) to prevent multiple voting.
3. The reform of postal voting to abolish the existing separate electoral roll for postal voters and to make it flexible for all voters, at home or abroad, with valid reasons to opt for postal voting.
4. Free and fair media access for all contesting parties, which should include: (a) free access to state-owned media especially television and radio; (b) fair paid access (political advertisement) to private media; and (c) provision of the right of reply for all contesting parties and personalities who are covered negatively in news reports.
5. A meaningful minimum campaign period of 21 days.
6. Fair and professional practices in constituency redelineation exercises to minimise mal-apportionment, gerrymandering and consequent disproportionality in seats and votes.
7. Automatic registration of all eligible voters.
8. Reduction of the voting eligibility age from 21 to 18 years old.9. Reform in electoral financing to ensure transparency and limit the influence of money politics.
10. Administrative neutrality of all levels of governments before, during and after general and by-elections for the federal and state legislatures.
11. Affirming the right of all students of 18 years and above, to participate in politics inside and outside campus.

Bersih 2.0, whilst acknowledging the importance of the reform agenda of Bersih, is now relaunched as a fully non-partisan coalition of civil society groups. It is a movement of ordinary citizens asserting the right of all, to clean and fair elections as guaranteed by law. We must ensure our votes and voices count.

We, therefore, warmly invite you and your organisations to join us and extend your full support to ensure that the next election and future ones will be clean, fair and democratic.

The arbitrary and undemocratic governance of Facebook on its users is not only tyrannical in itself, it is open to manipulation by authoritarian regimes to shut down facebook activism by making a lot of or high-powered complaints.

From our knowledge, at least two other politically-critical pages - ‘Justice for Beng Bock’ and ‘save Jamal on Air’ pages were also terminated by Facebook without reasons.

As both the death of Beng Hock and sacking of 988 deejay Jamaluddin Ibrahim are highly controversial issues in Malaysia, these raise the legitimate suspicion if such blocking was the outcome of some backdoor crackdown operation on new media, made possible by Facebook’s arbitrary governance.

It is entirely expected that our scum-of-the-earth government would pressure Facebook with a request like this, but very surprising that Facebook would accede to that.

After all, Facebook have the highest number of users in Malaysia and you don't want to piss them off.

Tuesday, 7 September 2010

Sunday, 5 September 2010

It was quite subtle at first. They tried to block Malaysia Today around this time - exactly two years ago.

You and I know how that went.

A mirror site popped up almost immediately, and Malaysians, being the busybodies that they naturally are, forwarded the link for the new site to everyone they knew.

I received the link to that mirror site at least 5 times via email.

And then they put the Malaysia Today blog owner Raja Petra Kamarudin behind bars using the draconian Internal Security Act as a tool. RPK has since wisely left the country, but is still running the blog from abroad.

Now they are coming down hard on individuals who speak out against the injustices of the BN government.

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia has formed a task force to scour the Internet for blog postings deemed harmful to national unity, authorities said on Friday in the latest of a series of actions against new media.

Home ministry deputy secretary general for security Abdul Rahim Mohamad Radzi said the unit would involve the police, Internet regulators, the information ministry and the attorney general's chambers.

"It is a mechanism that will coordinate these various agencies to help monitor what is being said in cyberspace and to take action against those that are trying to stoke racial tensions and disunity," he told AFP.

Abdul Rahim said the group would also monitor alternative and mainstream media for similar content.

"There is a disturbing trend now appearing on the Internet where some people are inciting racial unrest and causing confusion and this will damage the peace we have in the country," he added.

Abdul Rahim cited the recent case of a Facebook page that insulted Muslim Malays. They make up the majority of Malaysia's multicultural population, alongside large ethnic Chinese and Indian communities.

Police are also investigating ethnic Chinese rapper Wee Meng Chee for sedition, after he posted a three-minute rap on YouTube criticising a Malay headmistress accused of making racial slurs against minority students.

The government has ordered a probe into the case which caused anger among Malaysia's minorities, who complain their rights are being eroded as the country becomes increasingly "Islamised".

In another case, Malaysian journalist Irwan Abdul Rahman was charged this week over a satirical blog which made fun of the state power firm Tenaga, and faces a year's jail if convicted.

The prosecution caused a stir because unlike the mainstream press, the web and online media in Malaysia have remained relatively free, despite occasional raids, bans and government criticism.

Major newspapers and broadcasters are closely linked with the ruling coalition, so the Internet has become a lively forum for dissent and debate.

The government in 1996 pledged not to censor online content as part of a campaign to promote its information technology sector.

The government, bound by its pledge not to censor online content is now clamping down on individuals who rightfully speak their mind by posting material online.

It would be amusing were it not so tragic, that the intention is portrayed as so noble - protecting the peace in the country.

The only problem for BN is that the Malaysian citizen of average intelligence knows that it is the grandmaster of racial unrest and disunity.

But the frequency and intensity of these events has me worried. I believe something really big is coming - and very soon.

Saturday, 28 August 2010

We call ourselves Malaysian but when we come over to West Malaysia, we might as well be aliens in hostile land.

We don’t understand your hangups about alcohol.

We don’t get why you can’t build religious buildings that aren’t mosques without hassle.

We don’t see why you’re always in a hurry to get everywhere and drive as if you’re the only one who wants to get home. Why you won’t wait for the pedestrian to cross when we do that all the time.

We don’t understand you at all. And that’s a shame.

Because we don’t need National Service to teach our youngsters to hang out with each other. We know that tolerance isn’t ‘Saya tak kacau kamu, kamu jangan kacau saya’ (I don’t bother you, you don’t bother me)

We’re just sorry that you still haven’t figured that out after 52 years of so-called independence.

I'm sorry, too. We could have achieved so much, if only we had our priorities right.

Thursday, 19 August 2010

Never in the history of Malaysian law has there been this much forehead-slapping.

Never before have so many eyes rolled collectively in exasperation and annoyance. In fact, the vortex caused by all that eye-rolling is probably contributing to the formation of a tornado in Kansas or New Mexico right this very moment.

The credit goes to one man - Abdul Razak Musa, a specimen of certifiably limited intelligence, who represents the MACC over the Teoh Beng Hock inquest.

I wasn't in the courtroom, so I had trouble believing the Malaysiakini report, but according to some of my sources who witnessed the shenanigans first-hand, the following events actually did happen.

He began by trying to smear the forensic pathologist Pornthip Rojanasunand's credibility as an expert witness. According to my sister the lawyer, this is an accepted practice in persuading the judge to dismiss the witness' opinion.

"Did you know that the university that you graduated from is not recognised in Malaysia?" Abdul Razak Musa, the dumb fool asked.

To that, Pornthip answered, "But it is in the top five in Asia."

If he had done his homework properly, he would have known that it isn't in the top five. It is either the seventh or eighth. I checked.

It is, however, still a very embarrassing point as no Malaysian university comes even close. Somehow I think that point was lost on him.

If someone had told me this was going to be a cross between the Jerry Springer show and a PT Barnum circus, I would have taken the day off and gone to watch. These days you can't get this sort of entertainment for free.

Our hero went on to suggest that Teoh had strangled himself and even went as far as to demonstrate this on himself.

If you thought nothing could possibly be worse than that, you would be wrong. For the grand finale, Abdul Razak Musa asked Pornthip if she had any experience jumping off a building.

Champion.

The mainstream media however, managed to sanitise their version of it, so that the entire proceedings actually appeared sane.

How I pity those stalwart supporters of the mainstream media. They have no clue what they've missed.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Malaysia arrested three suspected militants believed to have ties with a radical cleric in Indonesia who was charged this week with helping plan terrorist attacks, officials said Thursday.

The two Malaysians and an Indonesian were detained Wednesday for suspected involvement in activities that could jeopardize national security and for alleged links with foreign militants, national police chief Musa Hassan said in a statement.

Police identified the Malaysians as Sheikh Abdullah Sheikh Junaid, a 70-year-old businessman, and contractor Samsul Hamidi, 34, while the Indonesian was listed as Mustawan Ahbab, a 34-year-old marketing executive. They were arrested separately on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur and eastern Pahang state.

Authorities were holding them under the Internal Security Act, which allows for indefinite detention without trial.

An official familiar with the arrests said the men were believed to have worked with a terror cell in Indonesia's Aceh province that was allegedly set up by prominent radical cleric Abu Bakar Bashir.

Bashir was arrested in the world's most populous Muslim nation this week for allegedly setting up the cell and militant training camp in Aceh that was plotting high-profile assassinations and bloody attacks on foreigners in Jakarta.

Those arrested in Malaysia were trying to help the cell expand in this country, the official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to make public statements on this.

Malaysian human rights groups that have long campaigned against the Internal Security Act criticized the arrests, saying the three detainees were at "risk of torture and other ill-treatment." Activists said the detainees should either be charged in court or released.

Over the past decade, Malaysian authorities have detained more than 100 Islamic militant suspects without trial. Most were released in stages after officials said they had renounced extremist beliefs.

These are very subtle messages that the BN government is sending out to an Islamophobic world, telling them that the ISA puts terrorists away.

What they neglect to mention, however, is that they also silence political opponents and activists in the same way.

Friday, 6 August 2010

Once upon a time, it was hailed as the cultural and historical heritage of Malaysia, the birthplace of our current nation.

I have been there a number of times, and I see nothing to shout about. Everything is touristy and fabricated. Perhaps I should have headed for the beaches instead of trying to explore the town.

But what can you expect from Melaka, when its state government has decided to allow child marriages to purportedly curtail out-of-wedlock pregnancies?

I won't say more on government policies and the need for restructuring society and addressing social ills, as this entry says it all.

However, I recall a bit of drama concerning teenage parents when I was in the UK last year. Apparently, a 13-year-old boy had fathered a child with his 15-year-old girlfriend.

It was even more befuddling as the kid's voice hadn't even broken yet and he looked like a 9-year-old.

But Alfie Patten was going to raise the child well, he claimed. Never-ending news reports detailed how he had bottle-fed his daughter and changed diapers.

It was very hard for me to smother my cynicism. It is rather difficult for parents in their 20s to cope with raising their newborns - what more for teenagers?

Anyway, it turned out his girlfriend was a bit of a player. After numerous other teenage boys came forward claiming to be the father, Alfie Patten took a paternity test - only to discover that the little girl wasn't his.

So that was that.

I suspect if he had gotten hitched to his girlfriend, that marriage would have ended in divorce.

Sunday, 25 July 2010

Every now and then, just when I think I've seen the worst, something comes along to prove me wrong.

Today's case in point is this notoriously ridiculous blog by the name of Marahku.

Forget that the blog owner attempts to decorate his blog with flames to give an aura of "anger". At least I think that is the intention.

Forget that trying to get a legitimate fact out of this blog is like finding a needle in a haystack.

If you have been following the attempts to discredit Haris Ibrahim, the owner of The People's Parliament, you would have been astounded to find that while Haris is able to present his facts from government sources, his detractors have had to rely on merely muddying the waters.

Anyone with half an education would be able to spot that.

But what was absolutely classic, is the statement, "Government is the work of saints coveted by fools".

I nearly died laughing.

Now, I may look at a lowly-paid social worker who lives in the slums in efforts to improve the welfare of those slum-dwellers and concede that he/she is a saint. Most people regard Mother Theresa of Calcutta as a saint, anyway.

But there is no way I could possible look at the Malaysian government (or any other government, for that matter) and call them saints.

Some say the best governments are the Scandinavian governments - they have really good welfare schemes, good healthcare, excellent infrastructure, a superior education system and well, the list goes on.

As for our government, they purchased submarines that refused to submerge. The Malaysian air force owns F5 aircraft of which engines were pilfered and then mysteriously returned after a stint in South America.

We have a police force that closed down some of its stations in crime-infested districts due to fears that it isn't safe for the cops themselves to be manning those stations.

We have highways that are jammed with traffic even though motorists are still forced to pay toll to use that highway.

Hey. We have a government that sprays chemical-laced water and tear-gasses citizens that publicly (but peacefully) oppose its nefarious regime.

With full knowledge of that, can one seriously say that government is the work of saints??

Wednesday, 14 July 2010

I've been on the socio-political blogging scene for about 4 years now, and a year prior to that just penning down random thoughts on a friend's blog.

Consequently, I have read a huge number of blogs and met a sizeable number of bloggers online. I've even met some in person via Malaysian blogger events.

So it came as quite a surprise to hear that Elaine Supkis was quoted as a "well-known" blogger because I hadn't heard of her before Utusan Melayu - pride of UMNO and all things lamentable - shot her to fame for proclaiming that Anwar Ibrahim and the CIA were in cahoots together.

Now I've read and re-read her posting, and I cannot decide if she was being tongue-in-cheek with that claim or attention deficit. She does, however, cite her source as "a Jewish editor of the warmongering Washington Post."

I love how specifically she names her source and produces evidence that goes beyond reasonable doubt. Not.

Utusan Melayu, bless their little rumour-mongering hearts, evidently did not think twice about crediting such a dubious blogger for the little nugget of information.

Now, they wouldn't be the first to make such wild allegations. Big Dog, a Malaysian blogger with a penchant for the ludicrous and nonsensical rambles on about the special treatment that Anwar Ibrahim receives from the USA.

Yes, he does have the tendency to ramble on. So much so that he ought to be called Rambo. Minus the muscles, of course.

He can afford to ramble. While I concede that he is at least somewhat of a "well-known" blogger, he is not burdened with journalistic responsibility. Well, he certainly does not take it upon himself to burden himself.

Utusan Melayu, which is a national mainstream broadsheet, amusingly has no qualms about completely shedding whatever morsel of dignity it may have ever had or stripping itself of all credibility.

John Malott is an ex-American ambassador who has had enough of rumours flying back and forth. His letter, regarding the claims of Anwar Ibrahim being a CIA agent challenges the government full on for fanning those rumours.

I have yet to hear a peep out of the government over this. The BN government is afflicted with selective hearing.

They are also sorely lacking in the power of deduction.

It is easy to make allegations, but difficult to produce supporting evidence. In the case of Anwar Ibrahim, it is hard to believe he is privy to such sensitive information, to begin with.

Throughout history, spooks (known in some circles as 'spies' or 'secret intelligence agents') have generally worked behind the scenes, living lives of blissful anonymity. To obtain information, one has to look as unassuming and harmless as possible to gain the trust of those whose boundaries they plan to violate.

Anwar Ibrahim certainly does not fit the role. He is thrust too deep into the public eye and has a schedule which is far too rigid for that.

Moreover, he does not possess a compelling reason to 'spy' on Malaysia for the Americans.

Take Aldrich Ames for example. He was an American mole, once working for the CIA and posted to Russia during the cold war.

Aldrich Ames' compelling reason was money. He had run himself into so much debt that he was looking for a way to make more money to pay off those debts. That's when he became a double agent. Because he was the guy next door, no one suspected him of being a turncoat - not even his colleagues in the CIA, until it was too late.

Most of us know that Anwar Ibrahim aspires to be the next Prime Minister. Some of us think his ambitions come at whatever cost, and are thus wary. Perhaps a few think that this ambition is sufficient to motivate him to betray the nation.

That being said, while I love this country, I will have to admit that its significance by international standards is hardly big. We are not what Russia was to the Americans and British. We are not even what Cuba and Argentina were to the Americans.

There is not much to betray.

Perhaps what I like about this nation is that we really don't have any notable enemies. Not even Singapore, even though many Malaysians I know have harboured a desire to add arsenic to the water we supply to Singapore. That desire has since tapered off, along with memories of Pedra Branca.

All kinds of allegations and accusations can be made against various individuals, by bloggers and mainstream media alike. However, we need to discern what makes sense and what doesn't.

In the case of Anwar Ibrahim being a CIA agent, I would suggest that even overactive imaginations lay that matter to rest as the very notion of it is ridiculous.

Tuesday, 13 July 2010

Yesterday an Iranian woman, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, was saved by global protests from being stoned to death.

But she may still be hanged -- and, meanwhile, execution by stoning continues. Right now fifteen more people are on death row awaiting stoning in which victims are buried up to their necks in the ground and then large rocks are thrown at their heads.

The partial reprieve of Sakineh, triggered by the call from her children for international pressure to save her life, has shown that if enough of us come together and voice our horror, we may be able to save her life, and stop stoning once and for all. Sign the urgent petition now and send it onto everyone you know -- let's end this cruel slaughter NOW!

Sakineh was convicted of adultery, like all the other 12 women and one of the men awaiting stoning. But her children and lawyer say she is innocent and that she did not get a fair trial -- they state her confession was forced from her and, speaking only Azerbaijani, she did not understand what was being asked of her in court.

Despite Iran's signing of a UN convention that requires the death penalty only be used for the "most serious crimes" and despite the Iranian Parliament passing a law banning stoning last year, stoning for adultery continues.

Sakineh's lawyer says the Iranian government "is afraid of Iranian public reaction and international attention" to the stoning cases. And after Turkey and Britain's Foreign Ministers spoke out against Sakineh's sentence, it was suspended.

Sakineh's brave children are leading the international campaign to save their mother and stop stoning. Massive international condemnation now could finally stop this sickening punishment. Let's join together today across the world to end this brutality.

First novelists often get missed in the cacophony of new books from established or popular writers. And so it was with Preeta Samarasan, a Malaysian native and a recent graduate of the University of Michigan whose sweeping novel about a Tamil family in a changing Malaysia moved quietly along book circles this year, overshadowed by new works from such brilliantly popular names as Jhumpa Lahiri, Salman Rushdie, Manil Suri and Amitav Ghosh.

It is getting increasingly awkward and rare for Malaysians to express themselves and explore their niche in this nation. Somehow, this writer manages.

In Evening Is The Whole Day, she describes the relationship to the 'motherland' many Malaysians still hold on to:

"Somewhere in all that hoping and studying and preparing, something else changed: India ceased to be home," Samarasan writes while describing how the Rajasekharans became Malaysians. " . . . This, this flourishing, mixed-up, polyglot place to which they had found their way almost by accident, this was his country now. Malays Chinese Indians, motley countrymen they might be, but countrymen they were, for better or for worse. What was coming to them all. It would be theirs to share."

It is just heart-breaking that race relations in Malaysia, which once flourished, are now steadily deteriorating.

Monday, 5 July 2010

The average Malaysian has never met a Jew in person, though he's probably used Michael Dell's computers, installed Bill Gates' Microsoft software and watched Steven Spielberg's movies.

I'm personally guilty of all, and to top that off, I am also a fan of Mel Brooks - he of the History of the World Part I fame.

Dell, Gates and Spielberg are prominent Jews, but the truth is, not all Jews are smart nor are they dumb. Like every other race out there they are people; consisting of a mix of the good and bad.

For some, a Jew is simply an evil tyrant - one of the many who have brought on countless suffering on innocent Palestinian children.

Alas, but the mainstream media is just not considerate enough to drop the bias and perhaps admit that Hamas terrorists provoked attacks or "peace activists" on some aid flotilla may have brandished weapons while dealing with Israeli soldiers, resulting in a return fire.

After all, sensationalism sells and billowing smoke from "yet another Israeli attack" or a profusely bleeding child hovering between life and death makes for righteous anger.

This is not to say that the Israelis are innocent of wrong-doing.

What bothers me is that people are willing to be manipulated with so little information at hand. I have colleagues who spew hatred and venom against the collective race known as the Jews.

Worse are those who manipulate this sentiment to launch an attack against their enemies.

The B'nai B'rith asserts that Anwar Ibrahim spreads anti-Semitic propaganda and anti-Israel slander. Their belief is that Anwar Ibrahim is (in their words), "a purveyor of anti-Jewish hatred".

Given his proximity with key U.S. officials, I hardly think it is so.

But Anwar Ibrahim, in my opinion, is guilty of playing up to the gallery. As anti-Semitism in Malaysia is at an all time high, associating the ruling coalition (Barisan Nasional) with Israeli spies and accusing them of being infiltrated by Israeli intelligence personnel is an impactful move.

The impact is two-fold, nevertheless. Anwar's detractors have always been wary of his links with the U.S. His sudden burst of anti-Semitism isn't necessarily going to warm them to him.

More unfortunate are his unquestioning supporters, who are now increasingly convinced that the Jews are the epitome of all evil known to mankind and beyond.

Those who have till now remained impartial are now introduced to a political leader's nasty side, one that would enable him to spurn his friends to suit his personal ambition.

Given that the odds are indeed stacked against him - he is being accused of a ludicrous crime that isn't a crime but for Malaysian laws, and his political career is in dire straits.

What may be acceptable for a ex-Premier, long past his use-by date but still enthusiastically milking his once glorious popularity, is no longer acceptable for one who aspires to lead a nation in the future.

Tuesday, 29 June 2010

Anwar Ibrahim, the leader of Malaysia's political opposition, has become known over the past decade as one of the foremost advocates of liberal democracy in Muslim countries. His many friends in Washington include prominent members of the neoconservative movement -- such as Paul Wolfowitz, the former World Bank president and U.S. ambassador to Indonesia -- as well as such Democratic grandees as Al Gore.

Lately, Anwar has been getting attention for something else: strident rhetoric about Israel and alleged "Zionist influence" in Malaysia. He recently joined a demonstration outside the U.S. embassy in Kuala Lumpur where an Israeli flag was burned. He's made dark insinuations about the "Jewish-controlled" Washington public relations firm Apco Worldwide, which is working for Malaysia's quasi-authoritarian government.

Therein lies a story of the Obama era -- about a beleaguered democrat fighting for political and personal survival with little help from Washington; about the growing global climate of hostility toward Israel; and about the increasing willingness of U.S. friends in places such as Turkey and Malaysia to exploit it.

First, a little about Anwar: While serving as deputy prime minister under Malaysian strongman Mahathir Mohamad in the 1990s, he began pushing for reforms -- only to be arrested, tried and imprisoned on trumped-up charges of homosexual sodomy. Freed after six years, he built a multiethnic democratic opposition movement that shocked the ruling party with its gains in recent elections. It now appears to have a chance at winning the next parliamentary campaign, which would allow Malaysia to join Indonesia and Turkey as full-fledged majority-Muslim democracies.

Not surprisingly, Anwar is being prosecuted again. Once again the charge is consensual sodomy, which to Malaysia's discredit remains a crime punishable by whipping and a prison sentence of up to 20 years. Anwar, who is 63 and married with children, denies the charge, and the evidence once again is highly suspect. His 25-year-old accuser has confessed to meeting Prime Minister Najib Razak and talking by phone with the national police chief in the days before the alleged sexual encounter.

Nevertheless the trial is not going well. If it ends in another conviction, Anwar's political career and his opposition coalition could be destroyed, and his life could be at risk: His health is not great. Yet the opposition leader is not getting the kind of support from the United States as during his first prosecution, when then-Vice President Gore spoke up for him. Obama said nothing in public about Anwar when he granted Najib a prized bilateral meeting in Washington in April.

Wednesday, 23 June 2010

It has come to the sinking knowledge that it has collectively lost most of its control over the Malaysian public.

Dictatorship governments severely detest the loss of control.

And thus, they resort to their favourite tactic to regain that control - fear-mongering.

For many years, the Internal Security Act or more popularly known as the ISA, has been bandied about to intimidate political opponents and challengers under the guise of 'national security'.

This time, the threat is Islamic terrorism.

Make no mistake - I am not a fan of terrorists by a long shot. For the most part I believe they are ignorant cowards who are manipulated by those smarter than them.

I am all for putting them away behind bars or deporting them if they have genuine intentions of bringing harm to the public.

But not when they are the collective figment of the government's imagination. And believe you me, this imagination has been spinning on overdrive.

It caught my attention when a report claimed that Middle East, African and local undergrads were ‘spreading religious views in campuses’.

In George Town, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said vice-chancellors of all public and private universities and colleges will meet the IGP and Higher Education Ministry officials on the matter.

The meeting would also look into the form of cooperation between police and the universities to curb the unhealthy trend which could affect national security.

“We view Musa’s statement seriously. We don’t want the matter to escalate into a problem which can threaten national security,” he said at a press conference after opening the St George’s Girls’ School International Students’ Conference 2010 at Universiti Sains Malaysia here.

This article, which I obtained from the NST deliberately mentions 'national security' twice for emphasis.

The phrase national security has always been the excuse for maintaining one particular draconian bit of law: the Internal Security Act.

Friday, 11 June 2010

Readers following the great national debate initiated by Minister Idris Jala in the Prime Minister’s Department on the possibility of the country going bankrupt must be thoroughly confused with the mixed messages from government.

On the one hand, we are told that the country is more prosperous than ever before and that absolute poverty in the country, for example, is almost completely eradicated. We are also told that the country’s economy is in good hands and that the finances of the country are well-managed.

Every few days or so, we are reminded of how fortunate we are to be living in Malaysia and how much foreign investors love us. Just a short while ago, it was trumpeted that our competitiveness had shot up this past year so that we are now ranked number ten in the world – ahead of many advanced economies.

We regularly receive a barrage of statistics and data on not only how well the economy is performing but also how, thanks to the outstanding economic management of the government, we will soon reach dizzier heights of prosperity and affluence.